Tuesday, January 15, 2013

oh has it already been 2 years? tell me it isn't so. tell me that life really isn't going this quickly. wasn't is just yesterday that i was blogging about being scared to death of becoming a mom? and now here we are celebrating year number two with this daddy loving, ball throwing, furniture climbing, could live outside if his mommy would let him sweet handsome little boy. hudson is known to melt my heart and then 2 seconds later have me pulling my hair out. i often call him my sour patch kid...sweet then sour. he's got TWO written allll over him and i honestly am loving this adventurous phase. i am quickly learning that year number two is going to be filled with many teachable moments as he test his boundaries daily. hudson typically obeys very well, and if for some reason he doesn't there is usually a very good explanation why and as long as i'm quick enough to figure it out, melt downs can somewhat be avoided or at least maintained. he has a heart of gold in my opinion, loving and forgiving.

Hudson is still my sleeper. 11-12 hours at night with a 2-3 hour nap during the day, beginning with a 30-45 minute quiet/crib time in the morning. I am so thankful for his great sleeping habits and i think his well rested self shines through his behavior. He is slowly becoming less picky as I have become better at presenting foods and getting more creative with healthy foods. He is an excellent talker and a couple of my favorite phrases that he says are: "thank you mommy" "what are you doing?" "night night He (hampton)" "i want this mommy" "daddy trash truck!" We have just recently started letting him watch tv so typically either first thing in the morning or after his afternoon nap he gets to watch one episode of Barney, which has quickly become his favorite along with the Praise Baby DVD's. He has caught on very well to ToT School that I started a few months ago with him and finally is able to identify & match up his colors and almost all the basic shapes. Our next goal is identifying letters! His favorite color is red and his favorite shapes are heart & star. He loves lighting candles and singing "happy" (happy birthday), playing with cars, building with blocks and smushing play doh! He also is a big cooker, just like his daddy! he LOVES being in the kitchen and "cook"while up on his stool. He is slowly getting better at being a big brother, he calls Hampton "He" and always wants hampton to be close to him but then easily forgets to be gentle. He is gotten very good at apologizing ;)

Hudson, you are teaching me everyday how to be a better mom. you keep me on my toes and you keep my heart full. i am in love with the little toddler you are and little boy you are becoming. keep running, keep climbing, keep exploring my little guy...there is a lot to be learned;)

Like almost every mom out there, i'm a little on edge about my babies getting the flu, especially after hearing about two 6 year olds who died here in dallas recently. So, i've started doing my research, even checked with a couple of nurses i know and emailed my pediatrician for some more information on it. what i'm slowly learning is that the flu seriously makes you feel like you've been hit by a train and you literally feel like your dying. the closest i have come to feeling like i was dying was giving birth (kidding, sort of) other than that i can't relate too much. i dont get sick very often and if i do, it doesn't seem to last longer than 1-2 days (knock on wood). Apparently, I have a pretty good immune system as well as Danny and our two boys. Both have had one sick visit each, both of which was for RSV. For the most part we are all going to get sick but how often, how hard we are hit and how long it last really seems to depend on the immune system. I found a great article talks about how your immune system is weakened, its amazing that could all stem from the first few months of life due to an abundance of antibiotics (which just doesn't kill the bad stuff in you, it destroys the good as well). I've blogged before on ways to strengthen the immune system so instead of going into detail I will just list some big ones: ELDERBERRY- research has even shown that is stops the viral replication of the flu, Echinacea, Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, Briar Rose, and garlic (yes garlic is amazing;research all its amazingness!) Sometimes, I wonder why doctors aren't prescribing these to their patients...besides ours that is!;)

So back to the flu, I know so many people who are sick with the flu, just getting done being sick or their sweet little ones are sick...i have a feeling our time is coming! I've been praying for protection of their health and boosting those immune systems like crazy. And like i said, I emailed my doctor to see if she could give me some more insight on the flu and what we could do if I started seeing signs. She sent me some handouts that were exactly what I was looking for so I thought I would share some of the info on here!

-There is no cure for the flu, antibiotics do not work again viruses.
-fevers is not an illness, it is a defense mechanism of the body fighting off an infection therefor try to avoid taking a fever reducer (doesn't apply to newborns) so the let the body do its thing;)
-BUT- if longer than 3 days of 103 or higher do take a fever reducer, bc high fevers for a long period of time can cause brain damage, seizures and also cause the body to become weaker instead of stronger.
-to treat a cold or the flu, make sure your child rest, drinks A LOT of fluids
-use a humidifier to moisten the air in the room for nasal congestions
-natural treatments that can be used: Oscillococcinum (boiron), Influenzium (boiron), and Influenza-Multi Strain Flu Medicine (by King Bio)

All supplements and natural treatments can be found at places like Whole Foods, Sprouts or Online at sites such as Organic Pharmacy and Healthywarehouse.com (Nature Sunshine Products).

okay so thats my granola post for this flu season! If you know about anything else that I didn't talk about I would LOVE to know about it! Always open for new ideas on keeping my kiddos healthy the best way I know how!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

"Consider it joy my brothers, when you face trials of various kinds, for the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect so that you may complete & perfect lacking in nothing. " James 1:3

I've heard this verse a thousand times but never has it struck me the way it has recently. I just finished Beth Moore's "Mercy Triumphs" Bible Study which covered the book of James. I can honestly say, it changed my life. Never has a bible study done this, sadly. One of the challenges of the study was to memorize the book of James... I was totally on board. However, I didn't quiet make it, not even close. But I did get the first chapter, all 25 verses memorized and that my friends has left the Lord to do some work. I've heard it, you've heard it, we've all heard it...memorizing scripture is so key in your walk with Christ, but the task, the time, the idea of seriously memorizing something is so daunting. I am terrible at memorizing, seriously, for instance I was trying to sing Away in Manger to Hudson and couldn't remember the words, same with Silent Night and Frosty the Snowman! I've always told Danny I'm terrified of getting early set Alzheimer's. But some how, some way I memorized 25 verses of James and these verses ring in my head all day long, especially the "consider it joy" part. I wrestled with this, still do. It's very hard for me to see past the not so glamorous moments in our lives...as you may see below:

Consider it joy when you get pregnant while you have a 9 month old. Consider it joy as your husband waits for some sort of promotion after 4 years, consider it joy when you live with your in laws for 8 months, consider it joy when you give birth to a baby without any sort of pain medication, consider it joy when the highest bill you pay is towards student loans, consider it joy when you run on 4 hours of sleep, consider it joy when you live in a 1100 square foot home & your not sure where the Christmas tree is going to go, consider it joy when your neighbors could possibly be a drug house, consider it joy when your 5 month old cant be within 5 feet of you, consider it joy when you can't go on lunch dates with friends because its just not in the budget, consider it joy when you can't go visit family because the tolls are too expensive, consider it joy that babysitters charge $12 an hour so date nights are clearly non existent, consider it joy when your car wont start (this is a new one), consider it joy my friends. James says,consider it joy... for these trials we face are the testing of our faith...

the year 2012 is only just a season and though these days seem dry, rain will come in abundance. and my faith will surely pass the test. ;)

not to sound too 2008 obama sloganish but my blog is needing some serious change. I like simple...so i made it simple. whatcha think? i changed the title, which I will explain the reasoning behind that in later post!

so i know its been like forever since i last blogged but i have some good excuses! i've been super busy taking pictures, 25 sessions in the month of November alone...my pointer finger is even feeling a bit sore from all the clicking. My 2 under 2 have definitely been keeping me on my toes and outside of MOPS, play dates, bible studies & tot school... blogging has got booted to the bottom of my to do list. this usually always happens to me at the end of the year so hopefully after the holidays get through i'll get back to a good blogging routine!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

lets face it, we all need a "moment." i need one. right now to be exact. i need a moment of silence while Hampton is having his moment #37 of crying. So i've decided to blog about about his latest activities that are driving us crazy during this "season."

hmm where to start...

He has been waking up 3 to 4 times in the middle of the night all week and has started he's days at 5. (not typical of my 10-12 hour night sleeper). He is crying all day unless I'm walking around holding him. All 4 of my baby carriers have gotten a lot of practice this week & my back is ready to sit out. His naps are about 45 min to an hour long leaving me to nurse him every 2 hours (this is not an exaggeration). I pumped mid early morning yesterday (8 AM) and got about an ounce. He has been like this all week, I'm hoping its just a growth spurt but i have a tiny little mommy itch that its not a growth spurt...its a hunger issue. And a hunger issue for this families budget can't happen. Hampton needs to breastfeed, hampton HAS to breastfeed.

poor little guy has been my constant high maintenance baby and it has really put a strain on all of us, especially me. oh i hate to admit that. no mom wants to admit that she doesnt have it all under control, and honestly i'm cringing over the fact that i dont. I'm not sure if i can even continue to blog about it without sounding like a horrible mom. so i guess i wont. We have our well check on monday so I assume when we gets weighed we will know for sure if its a hunger issue or something else. i know all babies go through spurts of being of unhappy...but were going on 5 months of unhappiness, not quiet sure if thats normal or not.

well guess i should go get my little screamer. ive pouted enough i suppose.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Oh my little Hampton.... whats there to say really?! Him & Hudson are like night & day...just complete opposites, at least as babies. The one thing they do have in common is they both are 12 hour a night sleepers! How i wish I could say that the car seat crying has stopped..it has not. he does have his good moments but the most part he absolutely hates his car seat. Which makes going almost anywhere...very difficult. We cant go out to eat, take walks or even go to the mall for a stroll. So frustrating, but what can ya do? I just keep hoping he will grow out if eventually, or danny may never let me have another baby.

At 4 months heres a little recap of what Hampton is up to!
- rolling from tummy to back
-will sit & swing around in the johnny jumper
-is now grabbing toys & shaking them
-drooling. a lot.
-likes to put everything in his mouth including his entire hand
-does great with tummy time
-loves being held
-has the cutest little laugh & the best smile!
-he isn't the best of nappers but its mainly because we have a lot going on in the mornings
-nurses great & for the most part we haven't had any trouble (complete opposite of hudson)

his 4 month check up is next Monday so I'm anxious to see how big he is! He is now in all 6 month clothes...such a big guy!